


Tactus

by Jack_of_All_Fandoms



Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 13:30:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13124736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jack_of_All_Fandoms/pseuds/Jack_of_All_Fandoms
Summary: Whether it was casual, clinical, restraining, or intimate, as the nature of their touch changed, so did the nature of their relationship.





	Tactus

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a secret Santa for mr-reblogbutton who wanted h/c minlace 
> 
> It's been a while since I've written. I'm aware this is a bit choppy and the ending is rushed

One of the questions in the Godard Futuristics deep space screening is: can you go multiple days, or weeks without physical touch? To Minkowski, this wasn't much of a problem. She liked physical touch, but she was also very independent. She can and has gone days without touch. Lovelace truly had to evaluate the question. She was the most tactile person in her family. Where her brothers liked to be behind computers, she liked contact sports. Where her brothers considered a handshake intimate, she liked to give full-body hugs. Even so, Lovelace put down that she could go for lengthy periods without physical contact.

As a captain she had to be professional. She couldn't wrestle with her crew, or give them sneak hugs as she could her family. True to her nature, she was still very tactile. Most of the time her touch was casual. She would tap a shoulder to alert someone she was behind them. Both hands would rest on shoulders if a crewmember was in need of comfort. Mostly, she would hold onto someone's wrist when she was talking. Lovelace did not like people literally drifting away in zero g when she was having a conversation. None of her crew seemed to mind (except Lambert, but he was something else). 

Casual

The first time she ever touched Renee Minkowski, she resolved it would be her last. They had been on the Hephestous together for about 3 days. They had finally gotten to the point were they could talk to each other without a weapon being drawn. Minkowski was facing away from her. Lovelace pushed off a bulkhead and caught the commanding officer's shoulder. Renee windmilled her arm and reached for her sidearm faster than the captain could bring her hand down.  
“Whoa!” Isabel exclaimed startled.   
Minkowski only starred with her hand frozen on her gun.  
“Easy,” Lovelace tried to defuse “I was only going to ask where the extra wiring is.”  
“Locker 12. Next time, just ask HERA.”  
Renee backed up with her eyes on the new member before turning around and leaving.  
“Sneaking up on her is a very bad idea, especially when she's like this,” came a disembodied voice.  
“When she's like what? And I wasn't sneaking.”  
“When her paranoia is on high alert. She's still getting used to you captain.”  
“Fine. It's fine. I just won't touch her again.”  
Her resolve only lasted a few days. She still gave arm pats and later would hold a wrist when having conversations, but she made sure the commander was looking at her before she reached out.

Clinical

The next type of touch that wasn't causal was out of necessity. They went back to the Hephestous to regroup just as Minkowski suggested after trying to fix Lovelace’s ship. They somehow got life support to work, but Minkowski's right arm was injured and she was trapped with no heat for a short time.  
“I don't know about you ladies, but I could go for a go hot cup of anything that could pass as coffee,” Eiffel chirped.  
“Sounds good, Eiffel. I'm going to check Minkowski's arm in the lab first.”  
“I'm fine captain.”  
“I'm sure you are, but you know what they say ‘trust, but verify,’”  
“Or in this case, just verify. Lead the way captain.”

“What happened anyway?” Minkowski asked after she was settled in the lab.  
“I was taking out some wires. Your communications officer volunteered to take over so I wouldn't inadvertently set off the dead man's switch and he…”  
“Was met with disastrous results...shocking” she deadpanned.  
“Really? Puns? Right now? I think you're spending too much time with Eiffel.”  
“You're one to speak Ms. A-Moth-Walks-Into-A-Doctor’s-Office.”  
Lovelace graced her with a half smile before taking her arm.  
“Tell me if this hurts,” Isabel manipulated the injured arm.   
Minkowski sucked in her breath. “It hurts, but it doesn't feel broken”  
“Pull up your sleeve. Let's have a look.”  
Renee pushed up the sleeve of her jumpsuit. Lovelace palpated Minkowski's bicep and went slowly down to her wrist.  
“You're right. It's not broken. It is very cold. Might be from shock.”  
Lovelace touched the other woman's face.  
“Jeez Minkowski,” she retracted her hand like she had been shocked. “HERA would you increase the temperature in this room?”  
“Increasing temperature.”  
Isabel grabbed an emergency blanket and wrapped it tightly around the commanding officer.  
“You're almost hypothermic,” Lovelace accused.   
“I'm fine,” Minkowski countered.  
Lovelace huffed a laugh. She put her warm hands on the exposed cold ones.  
“Not right now, but you will be.”  
Isabel Lovelace held onto Renee Minkowski's soft hands. She knew the commander was plotting to keep her on the station. Even so, she was starting to feel an urge to protect this woman.

Restraining

Five days had gone by since Doug disappeared. Renee had been working non stop to see if there was any way she could find him. Isabel hadn't seen her eat or sleep in days. She would perform routine ship functions, but every free second went to locating the missing communications officer. Lovelace stood by the hatch of the comms room. Minkowski would be coming back soon and Lovelace knew she needed to...actually she didn't know what she needed to do. All she knew is the commander was about to run herself ragged.  
“Her heart can't take much more of this. Blood pressure much too high,” a thick Russian accent sounded behind her.  
“I know, but what do I do?” she asked Hilbert without facing him.   
“I'll get something from my lab to bring down blood pressure.”  
“Will it help her sleep?”  
“Possibly. There is always a chance she'll fight it.”  
“Minkowski? Fight? Never!” Lovelace responded with half hearted sarcasm.  
“Hmmm,” was all the acknowledgment Hilbert gave. “Try to keep her in one place. I'll be back shortly.”  
As if on cue, Minkowski came around the corner.   
“Commander, may I speak to you in your quarters?” Lovelace asked.  
“We have nothing to say. Please move.”  
The captain stayed in front of the comms room.  
“Oh, we have plenty to say.”  
“Move captain, that's an order!”  
“I guess you'll have to court martial me.”  
Lovelace stood unyielding. Minkowski tried to strongarm her way past the other woman, but Isabel caught the commander's arms and held them firmly.  
“Let me go. I need to find him.”  
She struggled in Isabel’s grasp. Both women were about the same height and build. Minkowski had more combat training, but at the moment Lovelace had five days of better sleep and nourishment.   
“You need to rest then you can go back to looking.”  
“No, no, no. Don't you see? This is your fault.” She fought harder against the restraining hands. “Your dead man's switch, your explosives, your ship, your stupid decision to save my life. Now let...me...go,” she growled and pushed.  
“You're right.”  
“Let me go. I need to find him.”  
“No. You're right.”  
Minkowski was still trying to get to the comms room.   
“Let me go,” she raised her voice as her face started growing red.  
Lovelace physically shook her one time effectively stopping the struggling woman for a moment.  
“Dammit Renee, I am agreeing with you! My ship, my switch, my fault. Let me help you find him.”  
Minkowski went stock still for a moment. The red in her face slowly dissipated. She sucked in a breath that made Lovelace brace for more yelling. Except she Let it out slowly, and her whole body seemed to deflate with the air leaving her lungs. Renee practically went limp with nothing supporting her, but the woman holding her arms.   
“Commander?” Lovelace asked cautiously.  
Minkowski's body trembled. She let out a small whimper followed by a sob. Isabel pulled her in and held her in a tight embrace.  
“Shhh. It's okay,”Lovelace soothed.  
Renee held the back of Isabel’s neck and burrowed her head against the captain's collar bone. Lovelace used one hand to keep her close and the other to stroke the sobbing girl’s face.  
Renee murmured something, but she couldn't catch it. It took her a moment to realize Minkowski wasn't speaking English.  
“HERA can you…”  
“She say, need to find him. Need to bring him home,” Hilbert interpreted.  
“He is correct,” the artificial intelligence confirmed.  
“Renee, Dr. Hilbert is going to give you something to help, okay?”  
A small nod was as much consent as she could get. Lovelace held Minkowski's head firmly as she realized the syringe was heading for the neck and not the arm. In Hilbert’s defense, he made quick work of applying alcohol and injecting her. It still didn't stop Lovelace from glaring at the doctor when Minkowski made a pained cry.   
“Fastest way to get medicine to the brain,” Hilbert explained.  
The commander's body started to relax. Lovelace rested her fingers on Minkowski's pulse point. The furious pumping was ebbing down.  
“What language was that?” the captain asked quietly.  
“Polish. One of her first languages. She's never spoken it in front of me.”  
“How many languages…” she couldn't finish the question.  
Minkowski started to rouse and reach for the comms room. She started repeating her earlier phrases. Lovelace could feel the woman's pulse go back up as she fought herself back to awareness.  
Isabel continued to hold her as she pushed both their bodies past comms and toward Minkowski's quarters.   
“HERA would you please repeat the phrase ‘you need to rest. I will look for him’ in Polish. Only stop when I'm saying it correctly.”  
“Of course captain.”  
HERA said the phrase and Lovelace repeated it until it was only Lovelace saying it. Isabel continued to reassure her as she got Minkowski to her quarters. She reassured her as she loosely strapped her in her bed. She continued the only two sentences she learned as Renee’s breathing evened out.   
She repeated the phrase as she watched the woman sleep.   
A thought of how beautiful Renee looked crossed her mind. Lovelace tamped it down. It didn't feel like the right time to be having those thoughts. Even so, she stared at their brave leader. She didn't know how long she stared. Long enough for Hilbert to go back to his lab and return with a glucose IV. The doctor started a line on Minkowski's wrist. Renee didn't so much as flinch.  
“Where are you going?” Hilbert asked to a retreating Lovelace.  
“I have a promise to keep,” she answered on her way to comms. 

A day and a half later Lovelace was sitting in the comms room.   
“Do you think that will boost the signal?”  
“I'll try,” HERA stated.  
She didn't hear the sound of the hatch opening, so the sneak hug was a surprise. She placed her hand on the arms that were encircling her just below her neck. And was even bold enough to let her face rest near the face that was behind her shoulder. Lovelace gave a full fledged smile.   
“Hilbert, we talked about this. Only in my quarters,” Isabel teased. “Ow,” she cried out after her arm was pinched.  
When Renee came in front of her Lovelace laughed. The commander even chuckled a bit.   
“Captain Lovelace I tried the modification. It boosted the signal, but only nominally.”  
“HERA, it's okay. It's been almost a week. We tried all we could. If Doug is okay, he'll find his way home,” Minkowski sighed.  
“Understood, sir” HERA lamented softly.  
“ Isabel, I want to thank you. When you said you would look for him, I thought it was only lip service. It also took me an embarrassingly long time to realize you weren't speaking English.”  
Lovelace grabbed Minkowski's wrist. She still didn't like people drifting when she was trying to talk.  
“If you were too upset to speak English, there was really no point in trying to calm you down in English. I am happy to look for Doug. You were right this was my…”  
“No,” Minkowski didn't let her finish, “what I said, I said out of anger. I had no right placing all the blame on you. You played the cards you were dealt, and I played mine. What it all comes down to is this is my command and he was my responsibility. I failed him.”  
“For what it's worth, I am sorry for the explosives and the switch. Let me be clear, I will never be sorry for pushing you out of danger. You did not fail officer Eiffel. He was a victim of bad circumstances and bad luck.”  
Minkowski took the hand that was holding her wrist and brought it up to her face. She kissed Lovelace’s fingers.  
“How about we agree to disagree,” the commander offered.  
“Truce for now. Agreed.”  
“This doesn't mean I explicitly trust you.”  
“Same here.”   
Renee stared at her. She let her fingers run down the beautiful woman's face.  
“Maybe one day,” commander Minkowski said and left. 

Intimate

Nobody was sure when that one day was. As their relationship evolved so did their touch. They went from holding onto wrists to holding hands. It grew to where neither one felt uncomfortable initiating, or even asking for a hug. They even got to the point where they would be forehead to forehead when discussing something. HERA knew about their growing relationship, but had enough tact to know when to mention it or not. If Hilbert knew, he didn't seem to care.   
They toned down the physical contact when Kepler and his merry lackeys came on board. 

Things only changed again when Renee Minkowski took back control of the station.

Isabel drifted in her quarters staring at her hands. How could she be so human and yet not? Two hands gently covered both of hers. She looked up into the face of her friend.  
“Who am I?” she asked.  
“I wish I could answer that for you. I wish you could answer that for me too.”  
“I know about Maxwell. I'm sorry you were put under that stress.”  
“Not as sorry as I am to have made that decision. I'm not here for me.”  
Lovelace lifted her arm and Minkowski sidled herself next to her. They stayed together with their arms around one another for a long time.   
“How could I have all her memories? What does that make me?”  
“I never met her. I never met the Lovelace that got off this station. The only Lovelace I've met is you and I'm quite taken by her.”  
Isabel turned and looked at her. She stared at her face searching for something. Before she realized it she leaned in and kissed Renee on the lips. She was pleasantly surprised when Renee kissed back. Even so, Isabel broke away.  
“I'm still putting pieces of my life together and you're married.”  
“You're right. We're both in need of some soul searching before we go any further. As far as Dominic, I was able to do a little digging in Kepler’s computer. Dominic remarried. Don't look at me like that. I made him promise me if anything happened to me he would find someone else. I even specified someone who didn't want to leave earth and wouldn't make huge life decisions unilaterally.”  
Minkowski rested her forehead on Lovelace's.  
“Just know my door is always open for you. Whether it's to help with an identity crisis or something more. I'm here.”

Something about being stuck in a time loop puts you in perspective of the importance of a single day and the impact of a choice.

Isabel decided to stop wondering what it would be like to be with Renee. She offered to be there if she wanted. It was up to Isabel. Doug was in comms, Kepler and Jacobi were secured. Renee was reading in her quarters when she heard the knock. Lovelace was at the entrance with a serene look.   
“You remember when you said your door was open...for anything? Still feel that way?”  
Renee smiled and grabbed the front of Isabel’s jumpsuit physically pulling her in.   
“HERA?” the commander asked giggling as Lovelace kissed her neck.  
“Engage privacy mode, and keep the communications officer busy? No problem.”  
“Thank you,” she replied while closing the hatch door.  
Once the door was secure, both women wasted no time in liberating the other of her clothing.


End file.
